Conflicts of Interest
by Magi Silverwolf
Summary: Any group of people will have their conflicts. Sometimes it just takes an outsider to reveal them. (MC4A fill)


**Disclaimer:** I do not own the original canon nor am I making any profit from writing this piece. All works are accredited to their original authors, performers, and producers while this piece is mine. No copyright infringement is intended. I acknowledge that all views and opinions expressed herein are merely my interpretations of the characters and situations found within the original canon and may not reflect the views and opinions of the original author(s), producer(s), and/or other people.

 **Warnings:** This story may contain material that is not suitable for all audiences and may offend some readers. Please utilize understanding of personal sensitivities before and while reading.

 **Author's Note(s)** : So this is a piece that I've been working on for a while. I just finally got the motivation to finish the first chapter thanks to the bingo game I'm playing over on the Monthly Challenges for All forum. There will be more, and I will likely be sticking with Steve Rogers' perspective, because he seems to be the one wanting to tell this story.

 **Reminder:** If you disagree with the characterization and/or interpretation of canon used here, then your audience for complaints is any of your local lamp posts. Please note that I am not a lamp post.

 **Competition/Challenge Block** :  
 **Stacked with:** Winter Bingo; FF; SoC; PP; LL; NC; ToS; FPC; Ethnic & Present; No Shells Here (Y); Laws (N); Trope It Up B (N); Long Haul (N); Truth (Y)  
 **Representation(s)** : Personal Boundaries; Steve's Poor Decisions; Psychic Powers; Life Lessons; Steve Rogers; Avengers & Psychologists; Jennette Rhodes  
 **Bonus Challenge(s)** : Under the Bridge; Second Verse (Surprise!; Not a Lamp; Ladylike – Authoritative; Middle Name; Nightingale; Tomorrow's Shade; Unwanted Advice; Rock of Ages; Sitting Hummingbird; Uncivil Obedience; Casper's House; Strange Potato); Future Song (Where Angels Fear; Most Human Bean)  
 **Space (Prompt):** 1C (Glitter)  
 **Word Count** : 2887

-= LP =-  
Conflicts of Interest  
Part 01: Arrival  
-= LP =-

The woman arrived at the Compound without warning. Steve certainly had no idea that he should be expecting a visitor and neither did Natasha. Rhodes had been sent on a mission by the Air Force within hours of their return from their first mission as a team—which was a separate annoyance, because Steve _liked_ having his team around him, but Rhodes was still active-service and the Air Force apparently had priority over on-call duty as an Avenger. Vision had disappeared earlier, citing necessary business down in New York that would take a few days. Sam was out chasing a lead on Bucky. Since the technical staff for the Compound tended to stick to their own building, that left only Steve, Natasha, and Wanda to be surprised by the invader who just walked into their living room in the middle of the afternoon.

The trio of Avengers only realized there was even someone else in the building when she cleared her throat in a lull in conversation. Steve rose automatically, because manners dictated that he should but also tactics. The last surprise visitor who had interrupted leisure time had been a crazy AI planning to destroy the world. Standing also put him on a more even height with the woman who _still_ towered above him. Hadn't Natasha explained once that tall women didn't wear heels? To make the height difference even more noticeable, the woman had a tall bun on the top of her head, made up of thick braids that had threads of gray and lavender woven through them. Silver charms were placed randomly over the braids, their high polish reflecting the light occasionally. The gold wedding band she wore did not glint nearly as much, despite being relatively new.

"Mr. Rogers," she greeted, extending a hand towards him. He shook it even as he tried to parse together if he should know who she was. Her smile was warm but distant when she turned to greet Natasha and Wanda with the same professional manner. "I apologize for my tardiness. I had some last-minute things needing my attention before I managed to get out the door. I also apologize for this meeting taking so long to arrange. It took longer than anticipated to process the necessary paperwork. When will Mr. Wilson be joining us?"

"I'm sorry, ma'am, but who are you?"

"Oh, I'm sorry," she said, smile still in place but seeming a bit more forced. "I thought that a photo was included in Commander Hill's dossier. I'm Dr. Jennette Casey." Steve glanced at Natasha, which apparently prompted the woman to continue in a hesitant tone. "I'm the psychologist appointed to evaluate the Avenger lineup in the wake of the incidents last month. Commander Hill assured me that you had been informed of my visit, Mr. Rogers."

Steve stared at the woman, struck by a moment of confusion before memory caught back up with him. He knew that many things had changed while he had been in the ice. This wasn't even the first time that he had met a person who embodied such a change. Yet the black woman standing before him in her dove-gray pantsuit with a violet blouse and heels still shocked him, even after six years of living in the century. She was also surrounded by an aura similar to the one that Peggy used to carry, like she was used to fighting for respect and one more battle wasn't going to stop her. He didn't know what to make of her, even more so than Maria or Natasha or Sharon.

"Maria didn't say anything," he said, after a long enough pause that Natasha had cleared her throat. "Also, we've got a good team and we work well together. If you need a report to that effect, I will be happy to provide one."

"If you wish to put together an evaluation of your own, I'm sure that Commander Hill would be willing to accept it," Casey said. Nothing about her tone was anything other than polite, but Steve got the impression that she was only humoring him. "Now, I normally suggest beginning with a group session, so that everyone has the same basic information from the start. Many people are unfamiliar with therapeutic practices in general and I like to correct misconceptions right from the start. It makes this process easier for everyone. Where is Mr. Wilson?"

"Sam's out on a mission," Steve said without needing a prompt from Natasha. "He's probably going to be a few more days on it. A week tops. Did you come far? I would hate to think that you came all this way for nothing. Maybe we can arrange something for next week instead? That would give the rest of my team time to return."

"It's no problem, Mr. Rogers," Casey reassured, clearly ignoring his attempt to make her realize that she was unwelcomed. "He can join us whenever he returns. I've been allowed plenty of time for this evaluation and allowances will be made for mission-related absences. Since Mr. Wilson is likely to already be familiar with much of what I would cover in the first group session, we can get started right away. Commander Hill recommended using the lounge for the therapeutic sessions."

"We are also missing other team members," Natasha said, pointedly not moving towards the doorway that would take them to said lounge. Steve easily picked up on the hostility lacing her words and body language. "You haven't mentioned any of them."

"I am already aware of Col. Rhodes being called away by his Air Force duties and Vision's urgent business out of town," Casey replied without rising to the challenge in Natasha's voice. Casey met the other woman's gaze smoothly. "Prince Thor left immediately the Ultron confrontation which is also the time that Dr. Banner went missing; Mr. Barton elected to retire completely; Dr. Stark is pursuing other projects. Did I miss anyone, Ms. Romanoff?"

"How do you know so much about us?" Wanda asked. Steve fought down the urge to comfort her in some way at the nervous fear in her voice. It didn't help that he was thinking the same thing.

Maria hadn't mentioned anything about an evaluation or a visitor. If she had, Steve would have reminded her that Natasha had done evaluations before and could easily do whatever report was needed. Steve hadn't seen any problems in the verbal one Natasha had given him before they had flown out to fight the Ultron knockoff a few days ago. Steve didn't see any reason why she couldn't write up whatever Maria wanted when she sent this other woman here. Natasha would be more trustworthy since she was a part of the group.

"I was given dossiers on all of you once it was confirmed that I would be evaluating you," Casey answered. Once again, she made sure to use a calm tone. She did frown slightly before continuing. "You are all acting as if this is a surprise."

"That's because it is, ma'am," Steve answered for all of them. Casey made a quiet humming sound. Both his Ma and Bucky's had used the same noise to indicate they had heard but were still expecting more. Steve assumed that it must mean the same thing and reflexively began to babble. "Maria didn't say anything about a visitor and she's really good about that kind of thing. Friday didn't announce you either."

"Not that Friday is as reliable as JARVIS was," Natasha added.

Steve felt his annoyance showing on his face. Natasha was right about Friday. JARVIS would never have let a breech happen without at least an attempt at warning the inhabitants, and Steve wasn't certain why Stark didn't just repair the program now that the Ultron mess had been resolved. Friday had a lot of glitches that Steve was slowly suspecting Stark had deliberately programed. It had been little over a month since they had settled into the Compound but he had already lost count of the number of times something had simply stopped working or otherwise malfunctioned. The technical staff had started scattering as soon as he entered the other building to ask for help.

"There have been issues with Friday?" Casey looked surprised by the concept. Her dark eyes flicked towards one of the corners of the room. Steve followed the glance but only saw one of the ugly plastic domes that Stark had insisted be in every room. "What sort of issues? Is Dr. Stark aware of them?"

"What would Stark do?" Wanda asked scathingly. "He only knows how to make things that destroy. Fixing things is not his way."

"I see," Casey said. Steve didn't know if she was agreeing with Wanda's assessment or just acknowledging it. He couldn't tell from her tone and while her body language wasn't closed off, it wasn't revealing anything either. "Have you filed a request for service with the Compound's technical staff? Or with Commander Hill?"

"The technical building quickly becomes vacant when we go over there," Steve said. "I did tell them about the problems when it first started malfunctioning and I told them that it needed to be fixed, but I don't think any of them listened because the problems just got worse."

"I see," Casey repeated, with another glance at the ugly dome. Steve was beginning to think that the woman really _didn't_. "And just what issues have you been experiencing with Friday?"

"Electronics malfunctions," Natasha answered. Steve knew the tone she was using. It was the same one she used for giving reports, both over comms and during debriefs. It was curt without being rude and completely lacking in the flippancy that Clint and Stark tended to use. Steve liked the efficiency of it. "Security codes have also been erratic. There's also reason to believe that mail has gone awry."

"Those are very serious issues," Casey agreed, with yet another glance at the dome. Steve turned just in time to catch a flash of two red lines interrupted by a single dot. Turning back, the woman had her phone out and was tapping at its screen. "Beyond the emails surrounding this evaluation, is there any other known instances of missing information? Friday is newly online. That may be a factor in her ability to process things." Casey looked up from her phone with a smile that too soft to be strictly professional. "The very young do not always listen, after all."

"These kinds of problems wouldn't have happened with JARVIS," Steve said, a bit of bitterness leaking into his tone. "This wasn't a problem at the Tower. The systems rarely failed there."

"My understanding is that JARVIS had complete control of the systems of the Tower," Casey asked, looking more concerned than she had over anything else. "I was also under the impression that prior vulnerabilities had been removed prior to JARVIS being given that control. What sort of system failures were there? Was Dr. Stark made aware of them?"

"It was the same issues as here," Natasha admitted, before Steve could think of how to answer those questions. "They just weren't as disruptive or as widespread. An elevator would skip floors or become inoperable. Locks would refuse security codes. Friday has that as well, but electronic devices and appliances will become useless. Channels will change in the middle of things. Lights will flicker, and the settings of things keep moving to extremes. Emails must be included in the disruptions, same as purchases."

"Purchases?" Casey's dark eyes seemed to be measuring them after the word left her mouth. "What sort of purchases, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Just necessities," Steve answered. He had been the one to authorize Wanda's orders for things to replace what she had lost in the Ultron debacle. She had joined the Avengers with nothing more than the clothing she had been wearing. She had needed things and Tony had always provided the Avengers with anything they needed. The only issue seemed to be that Friday had either not sent most of the orders through or had them rerouted to other places.

Casey looked back at her phone with another humming sound. With a few more taps, she sent off whatever message she had been composing. Then she gestured again towards the door leading to the small lounge. Steve exchanged a look with Natasha who nodded. Resigned to playing along with the evaluation, Steve led the way into the more intimate room off the main living space. Natasha had never steered him wrong before and he had to trust that now.

"Now as I mentioned," Casey stated after they were all settled into the comfortable armchairs that were scattered around the room, "I like to start with correcting any misconceptions about psychology that may exist. This is also the time when we will outline our schedule and any potential goals. As I said, I have been given ample time for the evaluation and that time does factor in mission-related absences. That being said, I do not anticipate this taking longer than a month. These kinds of evaluations rarely take longer than that. Any questions so far?"

Her eyes swept over them. It might have been Steve's imagination, but she seemed to linger on Natasha for an extra moment before she relaxed back into her chair. She folded her hands together over her stomach. The artist in him appreciated the way her chocolate skin contrasted with the violet of her blouse, framed on three sides by dove-gray. It was as powerful an image as Peggy had ever projected in anything she had worn. Her voice was soothing as she continued.

"Since you haven't had a chance to familiarize yourself with my dossier as I have yours, I will start by introducing myself. I am Dr. Jennette Casey. I have a therapeutic practice in Manhattan and I specialize in trauma cases, particularly in situations where confidentiality is a major factor. While I never worked with SHIELD while it was a legal entity, I have worked with members of the CIA and various black ops. I have also worked with both metahumans and technologically enhanced people." She shook her head. The sunlight hitting the charms in her hair had Steve blinking against the reflected glitter. "All of that is a rather elaborate way of saying that I am familiar with the complexities involved in this and I feel up to the task of delivering as unbiased report as possible. Do you have any specific concerns before we get into the schedule for the next few weeks?"

"I do," Wanda said, leaning forward. Steve noted the scarlet flicking around her fingers. "Did Stark send you? _Tell the truth_."

"Dr. Stark didn't send me, Miss Maximoff," Casey replied coolly. "In fact, as far as I'm aware, he does not even know I am here. I am here on the behalf of the UN. Due to recent events and the overhaul to the Avengers' lineup, they felt it prudent to evaluate the team in its entirely. Is something upsetting you, Miss Maximoff? You appear to be in distress."

"I can't read you," Wanda cried. She turned damp eyes to Steve, clearly panicking at the unusual situation. He had the strange recognition that her eyes matched Casey's suit. "I can't read her!"

"That is as it should be, Miss Maximoff," Casey said, drawing their attention back to her. She looked only mildly concerned at Wanda's fear. Steve wanted to punch her, woman or not, especially when she leaned forward and continued speaking in an even voice. "When the committee appointed me to this task, it was mutually agreed upon that I take precautions against being influenced unduly. To this end, I will be subjected to checks periodically by an outside party." Casey paused, and her voice softened with losing any of its commanding firmness. "I do recognize that this may be distressing. I have been told that it feels like a slight buzzing. Do you sense it?"

"Is this really necessary?" Steve interrupted, when Wanda's response was to cover her face with her hands while her shoulders shook. The girl was _terrified_. "You're upsetting Wanda, and Natasha can make whatever report needed by whoever sent you. She's done plenty and I trust her judgement."

"I assure you, Mr. Rogers," Casey answered with unwavering certainty, "that my presence here is considered necessary, as are all the precautions put in place. Commander Hill insisted on both. If you wish, we can break for a half hour or so to give Miss Maximoff time to settle herself and for you to contact Commander Hill for clarification."

"I think talking to Maria is exactly what needs to happen." Steve was confident that he could clear up this misunderstanding. Even if Maria insisted on having a stranger do the report, he would make sure it was someone who wouldn't upset Wanda like this. At the very least, he could see what Natasha could find out about this Dr. Casey. Was she even a real doctor?

"I agree," Casey said, her brown eyes sharp and assessing. "Let's meet back here in an hour. That should give you time to check your email as well as contact Commander Hill. Acceptable?"

"More than."

Steve was certain it wouldn't take that even that long.

-= LP =-  
To be continued  
-= LP =-


End file.
